Friday evening. I have things I should do. Constructive things like cleaning the bathroom or writIng a report. Or studying the book for the home colon screening test.
Yep. Back to poop. I really need to ‘study’ for that ‘test’. Of course, my husband told me he took it and aced it. All the answers are number two!?
So much for the potty jokes, but I really could not resist sharing that one!
So, yeah. Things I should do but I am not doing them. When I got home I flopped down and watched Hawaii Five O on my iPad. It is great because of the relative distance thing. I can actually see the screen!
Then I checked my email and Lin had sent me an article about how yoga inversions are bad for us with AMD. Alrightee then. Let me move off from there.
After I scanned the article, I went to Google Scholar. I searched about six pages of references for yoga and macular degeneration. I did not find a single description of an article that sounded like it found yoga inversions bad for AMD. Not one. In fact, most of the articles I scanned sounded as if they were touting yoga as a great thing for the visually impaired.
The reason I went to Google Scholar? Because it helps you find the research. Everyone has an opinion but unless he can back it up with facts, don’t believe him! An opinion is no more than that: an opinion. That and $1.25 will get you a diet Pepsi. (I don’t drink coffee and have no clue how much a cup of joe really costs.)
The articles I saw that said don’t do inversions were on the general web and by the same person. He offered no substantiating data. His evidence, if any, appeared to be anecdotal. Anecdotal evidence is great for helping us generate some working hypotheses but to declare it as true, we need experimental proof.
I guess the lesson I am trying to impart is don’t believe everything you read in the papers. There are all sorts of opinions and theories out there. Some of them have a lot of face validity and seem as if they are true. That doesn’t mean they succeed when they are tested.
Once again, we try very hard to back up what we say here with research. If I go off the reservation in my speculations, I will tell you. “I don’t have a clue what I am talking about. Unsubstantiated opinion here!” One should never pass off her opinions as gospel.
Speaking for myself and myself alone, I am not quitting yoga even with inversions. There is no substantive evidence offered for the claims. I love yoga. I have improved strength, flexibility, endurance and even balance (eternally balance challenged; that’s me!) I love the challenges. I love the socialization. And that is that.
And now, I have found another use for my magnifier reader: DIY home surgery! There is a splinter in my foot. Can’t see it naked eye but on 9x it is a tree trunk. Nurse! Tweezers!
Written October 21, 2017